02-16-2023, 05:14 PM
(This post was last modified: 02-16-2023, 11:24 PM by dude_man. Edited 1 time in total.)
Brandon and the Austin Copperheads came in to the season with some high expectations for themselves, regardless of how they were “projected”. After coming off such a rough end of the last season, they had to prove themselves. They started 6-1, sitting at the top of the division, and then just collapsed the last half with a record of 2-7 and finishing 8-8, placing 5th in the division. People were projecting a similar season for the Copperheads, but they weren’t going to let that happen. Brandon started preparing for season 39 the second season 38 ended. He was unsatisfied with his performance and he knew he had to be better. His 58 pancakes was not enough and 3 sacks on his QB was 3 sacks too many. A new, intense training program was necessary, as well as, a complementary diet plan. The training program consisted of 3 workouts a day, 1 lifting, 1 endurance and 1 game like play. In between each workout was a meal made up of bacon, potatoes, and of course, a large heap of pancakes. You are what you eat. He recruited the help of good friend Big Joe Reed from the Chicago Butcher to do the game like workouts with. He found practicing against actual people was far more beneficial than sleds or dummy bags. This grind kept up for the whole off season and Brandon felt more prepared than ever. Even though it was only his rookie season in the ISFL, he knew he could do better, but needed to put in the work. This was going to be a good year, he could feel it.
Week 1 - New Orleans visits the desert
The season opened up with a visit from New Orleans. Brandon had decent success against them last year and the Copperheads won both match ups. However, Brandon did allow 2 of his 3 sacks up against them. Not this year he told himself. Austin came prepared for this game. One big key for this game was the 2 interceptions for the Copperheads from Steal and McGibbons. They led 17-7 at the half, but Austin kept rolling in the second. Two touchdowns in the second half from the Queen, 1 to Patey and the other to Buckshank led the Copperheads to a 31-17 win. Strong performance from Brandon’s QB with 288 yards and 4 TDs. Minus 1, 5 yard penalty, Brandon was pleased with his performance of 8 pancakes and 0 sacks. The off season work is showing. It was the start to the season he needed.
1-0 Week 2 - Austin heads to the West Coast
Not a high scoring affair, but definitely one that was dominated by Austin from the start. OCO and Austin split their series last season 1-1 with each home team winning their game. Brandon was ready for this offense to keep the scoring train rolling, however, this game was for the kicker. Minus a touchdown in the first half from the Queen to Bickerman, the rest of the points were field goals. Tate was feeling it for sure going 4 for 4 on kicks. Even nailed a 50 yarder at the beginning of the half. Solid offensive performance stat wise, but Austin knew they had to get TDs. After such a great performance in Game 1, Brandon was a little disappointed in himself with only 3 sacks, but was happy to play a cleaner game and not causing any penalties. Also, still sitting with a goose egg in the sacks allowed column.
2-0 Week 3 - Brandon visits old friends in Chicago
Brandon was especially excited for this match up with the Butchers. He has good friends on the team, one being Joe Reed, his off season training partner, and the other being Austin Morley, return specialist and WR. While they are friends, Brandon was ready to avenge their loss to the Butchers last season. A horrible 40-7 loss sat but with him and the team. This was a very back and forth game. Opened with. Butchers TD, followed by a Austin TD, then 3 FG in the second quarter, 1 for Austin and 2 for Chicago put the game at a score of 10-13. Austin was trailing. Brandon went in at half and told the team that we have to beat these guys after the embarrassment of last year. Third quarter was a high scoring quarter with a pick 6 and a FG for Chicago, but Austin was able to score 2 TDs, taking a 1 point led at the end of the third. It was a defensive battle in the fourth, but Chicago was able to score a late FG and Austin just couldn’t get anything going. The Butchers took the W in a 26-24 battle. Brandon was so mad about their performance he didn’t even care about his 11 pancakes (career high) and 0 sacks allowed stat line.
2-1 Week 4 - The defending champs come to town
Last season Austin and Arizona traded wins with each team winning their home game. The win that Arizona had in the last week of the season, was the dagger to any playoff hope for Austin. Brandon struggled against them averaging only 4 sacks per game. Arizona was always a tough matchup, but was to be expected from the back to back champs. Coming off the loss the prior week, Brandon and the Copperheads were ready to get back in the win column on home turf. Behind a solid pass game from the Queen, Austin jumped out to a 17-7 lead, before giving up a deep pass right before half. They went into halftime up 17-14. The realized that this game was going to be won through the air. The run game was struggling against a tough Arizona defense. Brandon got the oline together and they talked about what they needed to do to make sure the Queen had time to do what she does best. Taking this approach, Austin was able to score 13 unanswered points before giving up another late TD with only a 1:17 left in the game, but it was too late for Arizona. Austin walked out with the win 30-20. The halftime talk with the oline, helped Brandon adjust to led him to a 7 pancake performance and 0 sacks.
3-1 Week 5 - Snakes in Paradise
Brandon loves when they get to travel to see the Hahalua, who wouldn’t? They weren’t there for vacation though, they had business to take care of. This game started out being a lot closer than anyone would have expected. Austin scored first from a Buckshank run, but Honolulu wasn’t far behind. At half the game was tied 10-10. The tie stood for a while in the third quarter, until it was broken up by a punt return by a touchdown for Austin by Buckshank. His second TD of the day. Then the fourth quarter started and Newman took over. Austin ended up crushing the Hahalua thanks to 3 TDs from Newman in the fourth quarter alone and he finished with 112 yards, as well. Newman led the Copperheads to a 38-16 win. Brandon has happy the run game got going, because this will help Queen and the rest of the offense. Only 3 pancakes in the game, but it was a good performance all around.
4-1 Week 6 - Austin goes from Paradise to the Big Apple
Brandon knew they had something to prove this week. The Silverbacks got the best of them both games last year. This was going to be a true test. They needed to make a statement while on the road and boy did they. A well balanced offensive attack was too much for New York. Austin’s first half consisted of 2 FGs from Tate, 1 being a 54 bomb, 2 rushing TDs, 1 from buckShank and 1 from Newman, and a air attack from Queen to Patty, a common combination. This all had them with the lead 27-10 at half. Brandon and the Copperheads talked about not letting the foot off the gas. Can’t afford to blow a lead like this. Third quarter was quiet but McHollywood broke that last in the quarter with a TD. Then the fourth quarter was more of the balanced attack from Austin. A TD from Queen to Bickerman, another common combination, another TD from Newman and finished up late with another FG from Tate. Brandon was proud of himself with 4 pancakes, and how the team performed. Everything seemed to be coming together for them. But in the back of his mind was last season. They started 6-1.
5-1 Week 7 - SaberCats travel to Austin
The ASFC runner ups come to town to battle it out with Austin. Brandon remembers their match ups last year. The away team won each game and Brandon didn’t have his best games. Only 5 total sacks and 1 penalty. Brandon hoped to improve his stats, but apparently the Sabercats knew what they needed to do against Brandon as he only recored 2 pancakes. However, Austin as a team, got the job done. Another huge day for Queen and the whole WR group who totaled almost 400 passing yards and a TD. That paired with a couple rushing TD from Buckshank led Austin to victory. It was 13-7 at half which closed out with another bomb from Tate from 55 yards. A pair of TDs from Buckshank and another FG in the second half was too much for the Sabercats who did manage to score in the fourth and make it an 8 point game with a 2 point conversion, but one of Buckshank’s TD was a pass from Queen which seemed to seal the deal. Brandon met with the team after the game to they could discuss what’s next. They currently sit exactly where they were last year, 6-1, before the collapse. They have to prove that its not a fluke, they are actually this good.
6-1 Week 8 - The Gauntlet begins with the Wraiths
Brandon knew the next 4 games would make or break the season. The team nicknamed this portion of the season, The Gauntlet. Wraiths (currently the best team in the league), Sailfish (second best team in the NSFC), Outlaws again and the Fire Salamanders (last years Ultimus runner-ups). They knew they had to win a couple of these to keep playoffs alive. Losing all of them would put them at 6-5, which wasn’t going to be enough. The Gauntlet started off rough. Brandon and the Copperheads put in a solid weeks work preparing for the dominating Wraiths to come to town, but they were just too much to handle. Austin jumped out to a 10 point lead, but after that it would be all Wraiths. They led 14-10 at half and the dagger came in the third as Queen was driving the Copperheads down the field, she threw a 76 yard pick 6. Austin followed up with a FG, but that wasn’t nearly enough as the Wraiths scored 10 points in the fourth led by a 130 yard and 1 TD performance from Brot. Brandon and the team were very disappointed in this game. 3 turnovers, 3 sacks and 8 penalties is not going to win a game, especially against a team like the Wraiths. Coach told the team the classic line, we learn from this and move on.
6-2 Week 9 - The Gauntlet Part 2 at Sarasota
Brandon hasn’t played against the Sailfish, but knew they were another tough opponent, like the Wraiths. He watched as much film as he could from their prior games this year, since they didn’t play Sarasota last year. This one was a nail biter. It’s a good thing Tate was all warmed up and has ice in his veins (spoiler alert). A little change up for Austin in the game plan, they stuck to the ground game to grind out that clock, at it worked. Buckshank and Newman combined for a total of 125. While the passing game to a little bit of a back seat approach with only 190 yards. Knight from the Sailfish dominated with almost 400 yards passing and 2 TDs, however, Austin’s defense was a bend, don’t break mentality only allowing 17 points. 3 points in the first half but did give up the 2 TDs in the second half, one late in the second half giving Sarasota a 17-16 lead. Queen led the offense down the field to set up a long 44 yard FG for Tate. Brandon had all the faith in the world in his kicker. He had been killing it all year, and sure enough Tate, is that dawg, and put it right down the middle. The team carried him off the field in excitement. They had gone 1-1 so far in the Gauntlet.
7-2 Week 10 - The Gauntlet Part 3 Snakes and Cowboys
Austin headed over to Arizona for their second match up with the Outlaws. Austin got the best of them last time, but with these divisional games, they are always toughest as the opponent really knows you. And man did Arizona know Austin this go around. First half was a typical back and forth defensive battle for these 2 teams. Arizona led 14-7 at half and they got the ball to start the second half. Sailor was on fire and pick apart the Copperheads. 2 TD in the first half and a third to start the second half. The second half was all Arizona. McTurtle was having a field day against the Austin oline totaling 6 tackles, 2 sacks, and safety. Austin had 3 fumbles, only lost 1 but it was a scoop and score. You could see it on the sideline, Austin just couldn’t comeback. Other than a late FG by Tate, Austin had no answer. The final was 30-10. They walked off the field, heads down, ready to head home. They had a lot to work on after that beating. The team met after arriving back at the facility for a talk, even though it was late. Captains started the conversation, but eventually everyone was chiming in. They talked about what went wrong, what needed to be changed, and how they planned on regrouping. They had to win this last part of the Gauntlet to feel better about their playoff chances.
7-3 Week 11 - The Gauntlet Finale Berlin comes from across the ocean
Last season, Berlin was the team that started the collapse for Austin with a close 23-20 final, giving up a FG with 17 seconds left after battling from being down 10 going in to the fourth. This game really stung at the time. Brandon wasn’t pleased with his performance in that game with only 5 pancakes and 2 costly penalties for 15 yards. This was a wild game. Berlin scored first with a TD from Justice. This was followed up by 3 straight FGs from Tate giving the Austin a 2 point lead going into the fourth 9-7. The first half of the second quarter was quiet, then the second part started. Queen drops a dime to Beeblebrox for 25 yards, Berlin throws a pick and Newman capitalizes with a 1 yard td run. Brandon and Austin sit down on the bench feeling good being up 23-7 with under 4 minutes left. Berlin must have taken offense to that. Berlin answered almost immediately with a 20 yard TD from Santa-Cruz to Perez. Then the craziest part, Berlin goes for the onside kick, and gets it! They score again with 52 second left and the game is 23-20, Austin still winning though. The sideline is freaking out. Berlin goes for the second onside kick but luckily for Austin, this one was recovered by them and they were able to escape. Brandon realized this is what happens when we get a lead and just sit back and relax. Cant do that again. He finished with 5 sacks, not bad, but most importantly, his sacks allowed is still a big 0 on the season. He started to realize he could finish the season with 0.
8-3 Week 12 - Austin goes to Mardi Gras
Brandon and the team head to New Orleans, but spoiler alert, they should have just gone to Mardi Gras instead of showing up to play their game. Not much to write home about in this one. This was another divisional game that Austin clearly didn’t prepare as well as their opposition. The offense struggled to get anything going, totaling only 305 yards of total offense. Jones of New Orleans had nearly 300 just himself. The first half consisted of New Orleans and New Orleans only. They led 20-0 at half. Austin’s defense was worn out from being on the field so long. New Orleans dominated time of possession about double. The defense got a little chippy on the locker room at halftime with the offense telling them they have to get something going, or at least sustain a drive for them to get break. They got the message and went out for a decent drive that ended in a 22 yard TD pass from Queen to Bickerman, however, that was followed up on with another TD for New Orleans. Some how, Spicy Ron still feeling spicy, ed the defense out in the fourth and was able to pick off Jones and return it 40 yards or a TD. It was too late though. New Orleans scored the final points with a FG, winning 30-14. Brandon didn’t have a team tying high of 6 pancakes that game, but stats don’t mean anything when youre losing. Brandon was afraid this was the start to another collapse.
8-4 Week 13 - Austin welcomes Honolulu
While Brandon knew to never expect something of a team, he was pretty confident that Austin could get back on track when Honolulu came to town, as they were the worst team in the league (fun fact though, they dominated the year just a couple years prior). Austin took care of business in their first meeting and they hope to do it again. Didn’t start out that way though. Austin struggled to get anything going in the first with the only points being 2 FG for Honolulu, but then Austin figured it out. 2 drives resulting in TD from Queen to her usual compadres, Bickerman and Patey, followed up by a TD run from Buckshank but Austin way ahead. Honolulu did score a FG to end the half with a score of 20-9. Second half was more of of Queen making it rain. She had 2 more TDs, 1 to Beeblebrox and the other to Bickerman which led Austin to a 34-9 win at home. Brandon felt better about the future. The previous 4 or 5 games had really put him in doubt of their playoff chances but a performance like this helped put his mind at ease. Queen threw for 288 and 4 TDs and no sacks, Newman rushed for 143 and Buckshank ran for 95, defense had 2 turnovers and 2 sacks, and the oline gave up no sacks with 40 pancakes. Brandon had a team high 8 on the day.
9-4 Week 14 - Sea puppies visit land to see the snakes
Austin had a team meeting to regroup before these last 3 games of the season. They only needed a 1 or 2 wins to lock in a playoff bid. They wanted to refocus on the goal and not let the opportunity slip away. Brandon wanted to prove all the preseason projections wrong. OCO showed up to play. They dominated just about every stat line. They jumped out to a 10-3 lead at half behind a rushing TD from Cold and a FG. Austins only points were a FG. Brandon knew they could be better, and they had to be. Coach got the troops together and made some adjustments based on what they were seeing in the first half. Queen led a quick drive down the field to start the half to tie up the game. The sidelines was feeling the energy. This is what they needed to get themselves going. After a couple of punts back and forth Buckshank broke the tie scoring on a 1 yard run. OCO opens the fourth quarter scoring on a 52 yard pass, tying the game up at 17. Both teams take shots at FG but both miss. Austin gets the ball back after the OCO missed FG with 3:45 left. Thanks to a couple of penalties on OCO, Austin drive down the field and score on a Newman 2 yard run. Now it was up to the defense to hold. OCO starts to drive down the field but a big sack on 1st down by Amir-Kani with OCO having 0 timeouts left sealed the deal. OCO ended up turning the ball over on downs and Austin sneaks out with a win despite losing in total yards, turnovers, and time of possession. However they won the most important stat, the score. Brandon could breath a sigh of relief as they had officially locked in a playoff spot. HE WAS GOING TO THE PLAYOFFS! He didn’t even care about his poor 2 pancake performance. This was about the team.
10-4 Week 15 - Off to San Jose
With the playoffs being locked in, Brandon was a little more comfortable going into this game knowing this would be a fight. However, Austin, once again, really struggled with a divisional opponent. Breezy busted out 2 TD runs for the Sabercats before they added on a FG in the second quarter, putting San Jose up 17-0 with only a couple minutes before half. On the drive following the FG, Queen capped off a 75 yard drive with a 9 yard pass to her favorite target, Bickerman. The defense held off San Jose on their next drive and Austin was able to capitalize with a FG before half bringing it to 10-17. Austin strikes early in the second half with a 57 strike to Bickerman once again, tying the game up at 17. Austin was going crazy after tying it up. They must have used up all there energy though, because that was it for them. San Jose scored 17 more unanswered. Another confusing game for Brandon. How good are they really he wondered. The team had only 275 yards of offense, 9 penalties, and 15 min less in time of possession. Thats a recipe for disaster and thats what they got. Even though playoffs were a sure thing, Brandon took his performance personally. He alone had 3 of the 9 penalties and only 3 pancakes. By far his worst performance of the season. Thats not the tone he wanted to set for himself heading into the playoffs. He had to be better.
10-5 Week 16 - The Finale
Brandon and the Copperheads already to care of the Silverbacks pretty easily and they hoped to do it again and set the tone for how they would play in the playoffs. Also in the back of Brandon’s mind was the fact he still hadn’t given up a sack all season. Just needed to finish business this game. The game started off with a pick six by Smokes to give the snakes the early lead. New York regrouped and scored on a 68 yard bomb to McHollywood tying it up at 7. Steal then ended the first quarter for Austin with another pick 6. Lots of punts in the second and third quarter, except for 1 TD pass from Queen to Patey in the second. Austin was up 21-7 at half. Third quarter was scoreless for both teams. Austin turned it up in the fourth out scoring NY 17-7 to cap off the season with win, 38-14. The team celebrated the victory but they knew they could only celebrate for today, as they were playoff bound. Brandon could contain his excitement as he danced around the locker room. THEY DID IT!
Playoff Round 1 - Secondline Round 3
Austin and New Orleans split their regular season match up 1-1. Brandon spent a lot of time mentally and physically preparing for this game. Its a long, grueling, painful regular season. Its a privilege to be able to play in the post season. They needed to take full advantage. Things couldn’t have gotten off to a better start. Austin scored early to take a 7-0 lead. The rest of the first quarter and most of the second was a bunch of turnovers and missed FG from both teams. Austin still led 7-0 with only 2 minutes left in the first half. They were able to sneak in 2 FG before the end of half. Brandon rallied the troops and told them, this isn’t over until its over. Don’t stop now. And they didn’t stop. They added 5 more points in the third quarter with a safety from Jones and a 46 yard FG from Tate. Austin was feeling good up 18-0 going into the 4th. Sadly this game had 4 quarters. New Orleans scored their first points of the game with a 19 yard FG. They went back and forth until New Orleans scored their first TD of the game with 5:45 left. Austin was still up 18-10. Brandon knew they needed to kill clock. They took about 2 minutes off the clock before settling for a FG bring the led up to 21-10. On New Orleans next drive, they score fast on a 64 yard strike from Jones. They went for 2 trying to make it a 3 point game, but failed. Brandon let out a small sigh of relief. There was only 2:39 seconds left. They needed to be able to rush the ball and kill clock but they only had 17 yards rushing. They rushed 3 times and only picked up 7 yards. One first down would have sealed the deal. The offense left the field knowing they could have ended this but now it was in the defenses hands. Jones led New Orleans right down the field with no timeouts left. The 70 yards drive was capped off with a 4 yard run from New Orleans with only 23 seconds left. Austin was down to 2 timeout and just didn’t have what it took to finish. A huge let down for Brandon and the Copperheads losing 22-21. Brandon refused to talk to anyone after the game.
As Brandon sat and reflected on this season, it was full of high and lows. He personally drastically improved from last year with 86 pancakes and 0 sacks allowed, including the playoff game. Austin made it to the playoffs and should have won the game had they just finished it. They slowed down and paid for it. Brandon knows they have what it takes and they proved everyone wrong. Maybe season 40 is the year for Brandon and the Copperheads to bring home the Ultimus.
Week 1 - New Orleans visits the desert
The season opened up with a visit from New Orleans. Brandon had decent success against them last year and the Copperheads won both match ups. However, Brandon did allow 2 of his 3 sacks up against them. Not this year he told himself. Austin came prepared for this game. One big key for this game was the 2 interceptions for the Copperheads from Steal and McGibbons. They led 17-7 at the half, but Austin kept rolling in the second. Two touchdowns in the second half from the Queen, 1 to Patey and the other to Buckshank led the Copperheads to a 31-17 win. Strong performance from Brandon’s QB with 288 yards and 4 TDs. Minus 1, 5 yard penalty, Brandon was pleased with his performance of 8 pancakes and 0 sacks. The off season work is showing. It was the start to the season he needed.
1-0 Week 2 - Austin heads to the West Coast
Not a high scoring affair, but definitely one that was dominated by Austin from the start. OCO and Austin split their series last season 1-1 with each home team winning their game. Brandon was ready for this offense to keep the scoring train rolling, however, this game was for the kicker. Minus a touchdown in the first half from the Queen to Bickerman, the rest of the points were field goals. Tate was feeling it for sure going 4 for 4 on kicks. Even nailed a 50 yarder at the beginning of the half. Solid offensive performance stat wise, but Austin knew they had to get TDs. After such a great performance in Game 1, Brandon was a little disappointed in himself with only 3 sacks, but was happy to play a cleaner game and not causing any penalties. Also, still sitting with a goose egg in the sacks allowed column.
2-0 Week 3 - Brandon visits old friends in Chicago
Brandon was especially excited for this match up with the Butchers. He has good friends on the team, one being Joe Reed, his off season training partner, and the other being Austin Morley, return specialist and WR. While they are friends, Brandon was ready to avenge their loss to the Butchers last season. A horrible 40-7 loss sat but with him and the team. This was a very back and forth game. Opened with. Butchers TD, followed by a Austin TD, then 3 FG in the second quarter, 1 for Austin and 2 for Chicago put the game at a score of 10-13. Austin was trailing. Brandon went in at half and told the team that we have to beat these guys after the embarrassment of last year. Third quarter was a high scoring quarter with a pick 6 and a FG for Chicago, but Austin was able to score 2 TDs, taking a 1 point led at the end of the third. It was a defensive battle in the fourth, but Chicago was able to score a late FG and Austin just couldn’t get anything going. The Butchers took the W in a 26-24 battle. Brandon was so mad about their performance he didn’t even care about his 11 pancakes (career high) and 0 sacks allowed stat line.
2-1 Week 4 - The defending champs come to town
Last season Austin and Arizona traded wins with each team winning their home game. The win that Arizona had in the last week of the season, was the dagger to any playoff hope for Austin. Brandon struggled against them averaging only 4 sacks per game. Arizona was always a tough matchup, but was to be expected from the back to back champs. Coming off the loss the prior week, Brandon and the Copperheads were ready to get back in the win column on home turf. Behind a solid pass game from the Queen, Austin jumped out to a 17-7 lead, before giving up a deep pass right before half. They went into halftime up 17-14. The realized that this game was going to be won through the air. The run game was struggling against a tough Arizona defense. Brandon got the oline together and they talked about what they needed to do to make sure the Queen had time to do what she does best. Taking this approach, Austin was able to score 13 unanswered points before giving up another late TD with only a 1:17 left in the game, but it was too late for Arizona. Austin walked out with the win 30-20. The halftime talk with the oline, helped Brandon adjust to led him to a 7 pancake performance and 0 sacks.
3-1 Week 5 - Snakes in Paradise
Brandon loves when they get to travel to see the Hahalua, who wouldn’t? They weren’t there for vacation though, they had business to take care of. This game started out being a lot closer than anyone would have expected. Austin scored first from a Buckshank run, but Honolulu wasn’t far behind. At half the game was tied 10-10. The tie stood for a while in the third quarter, until it was broken up by a punt return by a touchdown for Austin by Buckshank. His second TD of the day. Then the fourth quarter started and Newman took over. Austin ended up crushing the Hahalua thanks to 3 TDs from Newman in the fourth quarter alone and he finished with 112 yards, as well. Newman led the Copperheads to a 38-16 win. Brandon has happy the run game got going, because this will help Queen and the rest of the offense. Only 3 pancakes in the game, but it was a good performance all around.
4-1 Week 6 - Austin goes from Paradise to the Big Apple
Brandon knew they had something to prove this week. The Silverbacks got the best of them both games last year. This was going to be a true test. They needed to make a statement while on the road and boy did they. A well balanced offensive attack was too much for New York. Austin’s first half consisted of 2 FGs from Tate, 1 being a 54 bomb, 2 rushing TDs, 1 from buckShank and 1 from Newman, and a air attack from Queen to Patty, a common combination. This all had them with the lead 27-10 at half. Brandon and the Copperheads talked about not letting the foot off the gas. Can’t afford to blow a lead like this. Third quarter was quiet but McHollywood broke that last in the quarter with a TD. Then the fourth quarter was more of the balanced attack from Austin. A TD from Queen to Bickerman, another common combination, another TD from Newman and finished up late with another FG from Tate. Brandon was proud of himself with 4 pancakes, and how the team performed. Everything seemed to be coming together for them. But in the back of his mind was last season. They started 6-1.
5-1 Week 7 - SaberCats travel to Austin
The ASFC runner ups come to town to battle it out with Austin. Brandon remembers their match ups last year. The away team won each game and Brandon didn’t have his best games. Only 5 total sacks and 1 penalty. Brandon hoped to improve his stats, but apparently the Sabercats knew what they needed to do against Brandon as he only recored 2 pancakes. However, Austin as a team, got the job done. Another huge day for Queen and the whole WR group who totaled almost 400 passing yards and a TD. That paired with a couple rushing TD from Buckshank led Austin to victory. It was 13-7 at half which closed out with another bomb from Tate from 55 yards. A pair of TDs from Buckshank and another FG in the second half was too much for the Sabercats who did manage to score in the fourth and make it an 8 point game with a 2 point conversion, but one of Buckshank’s TD was a pass from Queen which seemed to seal the deal. Brandon met with the team after the game to they could discuss what’s next. They currently sit exactly where they were last year, 6-1, before the collapse. They have to prove that its not a fluke, they are actually this good.
6-1 Week 8 - The Gauntlet begins with the Wraiths
Brandon knew the next 4 games would make or break the season. The team nicknamed this portion of the season, The Gauntlet. Wraiths (currently the best team in the league), Sailfish (second best team in the NSFC), Outlaws again and the Fire Salamanders (last years Ultimus runner-ups). They knew they had to win a couple of these to keep playoffs alive. Losing all of them would put them at 6-5, which wasn’t going to be enough. The Gauntlet started off rough. Brandon and the Copperheads put in a solid weeks work preparing for the dominating Wraiths to come to town, but they were just too much to handle. Austin jumped out to a 10 point lead, but after that it would be all Wraiths. They led 14-10 at half and the dagger came in the third as Queen was driving the Copperheads down the field, she threw a 76 yard pick 6. Austin followed up with a FG, but that wasn’t nearly enough as the Wraiths scored 10 points in the fourth led by a 130 yard and 1 TD performance from Brot. Brandon and the team were very disappointed in this game. 3 turnovers, 3 sacks and 8 penalties is not going to win a game, especially against a team like the Wraiths. Coach told the team the classic line, we learn from this and move on.
6-2 Week 9 - The Gauntlet Part 2 at Sarasota
Brandon hasn’t played against the Sailfish, but knew they were another tough opponent, like the Wraiths. He watched as much film as he could from their prior games this year, since they didn’t play Sarasota last year. This one was a nail biter. It’s a good thing Tate was all warmed up and has ice in his veins (spoiler alert). A little change up for Austin in the game plan, they stuck to the ground game to grind out that clock, at it worked. Buckshank and Newman combined for a total of 125. While the passing game to a little bit of a back seat approach with only 190 yards. Knight from the Sailfish dominated with almost 400 yards passing and 2 TDs, however, Austin’s defense was a bend, don’t break mentality only allowing 17 points. 3 points in the first half but did give up the 2 TDs in the second half, one late in the second half giving Sarasota a 17-16 lead. Queen led the offense down the field to set up a long 44 yard FG for Tate. Brandon had all the faith in the world in his kicker. He had been killing it all year, and sure enough Tate, is that dawg, and put it right down the middle. The team carried him off the field in excitement. They had gone 1-1 so far in the Gauntlet.
7-2 Week 10 - The Gauntlet Part 3 Snakes and Cowboys
Austin headed over to Arizona for their second match up with the Outlaws. Austin got the best of them last time, but with these divisional games, they are always toughest as the opponent really knows you. And man did Arizona know Austin this go around. First half was a typical back and forth defensive battle for these 2 teams. Arizona led 14-7 at half and they got the ball to start the second half. Sailor was on fire and pick apart the Copperheads. 2 TD in the first half and a third to start the second half. The second half was all Arizona. McTurtle was having a field day against the Austin oline totaling 6 tackles, 2 sacks, and safety. Austin had 3 fumbles, only lost 1 but it was a scoop and score. You could see it on the sideline, Austin just couldn’t comeback. Other than a late FG by Tate, Austin had no answer. The final was 30-10. They walked off the field, heads down, ready to head home. They had a lot to work on after that beating. The team met after arriving back at the facility for a talk, even though it was late. Captains started the conversation, but eventually everyone was chiming in. They talked about what went wrong, what needed to be changed, and how they planned on regrouping. They had to win this last part of the Gauntlet to feel better about their playoff chances.
7-3 Week 11 - The Gauntlet Finale Berlin comes from across the ocean
Last season, Berlin was the team that started the collapse for Austin with a close 23-20 final, giving up a FG with 17 seconds left after battling from being down 10 going in to the fourth. This game really stung at the time. Brandon wasn’t pleased with his performance in that game with only 5 pancakes and 2 costly penalties for 15 yards. This was a wild game. Berlin scored first with a TD from Justice. This was followed up by 3 straight FGs from Tate giving the Austin a 2 point lead going into the fourth 9-7. The first half of the second quarter was quiet, then the second part started. Queen drops a dime to Beeblebrox for 25 yards, Berlin throws a pick and Newman capitalizes with a 1 yard td run. Brandon and Austin sit down on the bench feeling good being up 23-7 with under 4 minutes left. Berlin must have taken offense to that. Berlin answered almost immediately with a 20 yard TD from Santa-Cruz to Perez. Then the craziest part, Berlin goes for the onside kick, and gets it! They score again with 52 second left and the game is 23-20, Austin still winning though. The sideline is freaking out. Berlin goes for the second onside kick but luckily for Austin, this one was recovered by them and they were able to escape. Brandon realized this is what happens when we get a lead and just sit back and relax. Cant do that again. He finished with 5 sacks, not bad, but most importantly, his sacks allowed is still a big 0 on the season. He started to realize he could finish the season with 0.
8-3 Week 12 - Austin goes to Mardi Gras
Brandon and the team head to New Orleans, but spoiler alert, they should have just gone to Mardi Gras instead of showing up to play their game. Not much to write home about in this one. This was another divisional game that Austin clearly didn’t prepare as well as their opposition. The offense struggled to get anything going, totaling only 305 yards of total offense. Jones of New Orleans had nearly 300 just himself. The first half consisted of New Orleans and New Orleans only. They led 20-0 at half. Austin’s defense was worn out from being on the field so long. New Orleans dominated time of possession about double. The defense got a little chippy on the locker room at halftime with the offense telling them they have to get something going, or at least sustain a drive for them to get break. They got the message and went out for a decent drive that ended in a 22 yard TD pass from Queen to Bickerman, however, that was followed up on with another TD for New Orleans. Some how, Spicy Ron still feeling spicy, ed the defense out in the fourth and was able to pick off Jones and return it 40 yards or a TD. It was too late though. New Orleans scored the final points with a FG, winning 30-14. Brandon didn’t have a team tying high of 6 pancakes that game, but stats don’t mean anything when youre losing. Brandon was afraid this was the start to another collapse.
8-4 Week 13 - Austin welcomes Honolulu
While Brandon knew to never expect something of a team, he was pretty confident that Austin could get back on track when Honolulu came to town, as they were the worst team in the league (fun fact though, they dominated the year just a couple years prior). Austin took care of business in their first meeting and they hope to do it again. Didn’t start out that way though. Austin struggled to get anything going in the first with the only points being 2 FG for Honolulu, but then Austin figured it out. 2 drives resulting in TD from Queen to her usual compadres, Bickerman and Patey, followed up by a TD run from Buckshank but Austin way ahead. Honolulu did score a FG to end the half with a score of 20-9. Second half was more of of Queen making it rain. She had 2 more TDs, 1 to Beeblebrox and the other to Bickerman which led Austin to a 34-9 win at home. Brandon felt better about the future. The previous 4 or 5 games had really put him in doubt of their playoff chances but a performance like this helped put his mind at ease. Queen threw for 288 and 4 TDs and no sacks, Newman rushed for 143 and Buckshank ran for 95, defense had 2 turnovers and 2 sacks, and the oline gave up no sacks with 40 pancakes. Brandon had a team high 8 on the day.
9-4 Week 14 - Sea puppies visit land to see the snakes
Austin had a team meeting to regroup before these last 3 games of the season. They only needed a 1 or 2 wins to lock in a playoff bid. They wanted to refocus on the goal and not let the opportunity slip away. Brandon wanted to prove all the preseason projections wrong. OCO showed up to play. They dominated just about every stat line. They jumped out to a 10-3 lead at half behind a rushing TD from Cold and a FG. Austins only points were a FG. Brandon knew they could be better, and they had to be. Coach got the troops together and made some adjustments based on what they were seeing in the first half. Queen led a quick drive down the field to start the half to tie up the game. The sidelines was feeling the energy. This is what they needed to get themselves going. After a couple of punts back and forth Buckshank broke the tie scoring on a 1 yard run. OCO opens the fourth quarter scoring on a 52 yard pass, tying the game up at 17. Both teams take shots at FG but both miss. Austin gets the ball back after the OCO missed FG with 3:45 left. Thanks to a couple of penalties on OCO, Austin drive down the field and score on a Newman 2 yard run. Now it was up to the defense to hold. OCO starts to drive down the field but a big sack on 1st down by Amir-Kani with OCO having 0 timeouts left sealed the deal. OCO ended up turning the ball over on downs and Austin sneaks out with a win despite losing in total yards, turnovers, and time of possession. However they won the most important stat, the score. Brandon could breath a sigh of relief as they had officially locked in a playoff spot. HE WAS GOING TO THE PLAYOFFS! He didn’t even care about his poor 2 pancake performance. This was about the team.
10-4 Week 15 - Off to San Jose
With the playoffs being locked in, Brandon was a little more comfortable going into this game knowing this would be a fight. However, Austin, once again, really struggled with a divisional opponent. Breezy busted out 2 TD runs for the Sabercats before they added on a FG in the second quarter, putting San Jose up 17-0 with only a couple minutes before half. On the drive following the FG, Queen capped off a 75 yard drive with a 9 yard pass to her favorite target, Bickerman. The defense held off San Jose on their next drive and Austin was able to capitalize with a FG before half bringing it to 10-17. Austin strikes early in the second half with a 57 strike to Bickerman once again, tying the game up at 17. Austin was going crazy after tying it up. They must have used up all there energy though, because that was it for them. San Jose scored 17 more unanswered. Another confusing game for Brandon. How good are they really he wondered. The team had only 275 yards of offense, 9 penalties, and 15 min less in time of possession. Thats a recipe for disaster and thats what they got. Even though playoffs were a sure thing, Brandon took his performance personally. He alone had 3 of the 9 penalties and only 3 pancakes. By far his worst performance of the season. Thats not the tone he wanted to set for himself heading into the playoffs. He had to be better.
10-5 Week 16 - The Finale
Brandon and the Copperheads already to care of the Silverbacks pretty easily and they hoped to do it again and set the tone for how they would play in the playoffs. Also in the back of Brandon’s mind was the fact he still hadn’t given up a sack all season. Just needed to finish business this game. The game started off with a pick six by Smokes to give the snakes the early lead. New York regrouped and scored on a 68 yard bomb to McHollywood tying it up at 7. Steal then ended the first quarter for Austin with another pick 6. Lots of punts in the second and third quarter, except for 1 TD pass from Queen to Patey in the second. Austin was up 21-7 at half. Third quarter was scoreless for both teams. Austin turned it up in the fourth out scoring NY 17-7 to cap off the season with win, 38-14. The team celebrated the victory but they knew they could only celebrate for today, as they were playoff bound. Brandon could contain his excitement as he danced around the locker room. THEY DID IT!
Playoff Round 1 - Secondline Round 3
Austin and New Orleans split their regular season match up 1-1. Brandon spent a lot of time mentally and physically preparing for this game. Its a long, grueling, painful regular season. Its a privilege to be able to play in the post season. They needed to take full advantage. Things couldn’t have gotten off to a better start. Austin scored early to take a 7-0 lead. The rest of the first quarter and most of the second was a bunch of turnovers and missed FG from both teams. Austin still led 7-0 with only 2 minutes left in the first half. They were able to sneak in 2 FG before the end of half. Brandon rallied the troops and told them, this isn’t over until its over. Don’t stop now. And they didn’t stop. They added 5 more points in the third quarter with a safety from Jones and a 46 yard FG from Tate. Austin was feeling good up 18-0 going into the 4th. Sadly this game had 4 quarters. New Orleans scored their first points of the game with a 19 yard FG. They went back and forth until New Orleans scored their first TD of the game with 5:45 left. Austin was still up 18-10. Brandon knew they needed to kill clock. They took about 2 minutes off the clock before settling for a FG bring the led up to 21-10. On New Orleans next drive, they score fast on a 64 yard strike from Jones. They went for 2 trying to make it a 3 point game, but failed. Brandon let out a small sigh of relief. There was only 2:39 seconds left. They needed to be able to rush the ball and kill clock but they only had 17 yards rushing. They rushed 3 times and only picked up 7 yards. One first down would have sealed the deal. The offense left the field knowing they could have ended this but now it was in the defenses hands. Jones led New Orleans right down the field with no timeouts left. The 70 yards drive was capped off with a 4 yard run from New Orleans with only 23 seconds left. Austin was down to 2 timeout and just didn’t have what it took to finish. A huge let down for Brandon and the Copperheads losing 22-21. Brandon refused to talk to anyone after the game.
As Brandon sat and reflected on this season, it was full of high and lows. He personally drastically improved from last year with 86 pancakes and 0 sacks allowed, including the playoff game. Austin made it to the playoffs and should have won the game had they just finished it. They slowed down and paid for it. Brandon knows they have what it takes and they proved everyone wrong. Maybe season 40 is the year for Brandon and the Copperheads to bring home the Ultimus.